SAN ANTONIO - In San Antonio today, 46-year-old Esiquiel (aka “Cheke”), a former major drug trafficker in the Piedras Negras “Plaza,” pleaded guilty to his leadership role in the importation and distribution of thousands of kilograms of narcotics into the United States from Mexico announced DEA Special Agent in Charge...

BEAUMONT, Texas - Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced today the indictment of 24 individuals who operated a major drug distribution ring and were responsible for trafficking methamphetamine to customers across the United States, including in the...

LAREDO, Texas - Altagracia Guadalupe Vargas, 28, of Laredo, has been convicted of conspiracy and possession with the intent to distribute Heroin, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. The jury returned its verdict following a three-day trial and...

McALLEN, Texas - Two McAllen men have received significant sentences for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana and conspiring to launder the drug proceeds, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Alberto Alaniz, 51, and Jose...

HOUSTON - Former Houston Police (HPD) officer Marcos E. Carrion has been ordered to federal prison for his role in a drug conspiracy, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Carrion entered a guilty plea to the charge Thursday...

LAREDO, Texas - Jose Manuel Saldivar-Farias aka “Z-31” or “El Borrado” has been charged with conspiracy to possess marijuana allegations after illegally entering the U.S., announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Saldivar-Farias, 27, is alleged to be a...

McALLEN, Texas - Jose Urbano Cortinas, 29, has been ordered to prison for nearly 23 years following his conviction of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Cortinas, of Memphis...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Jose Luis Zuniga-Hernandez, 47, aka Wicho or XW or Commandante Wicho, has been ordered to federal prison along with his brother Armando Arizmendi Hernandez, 37, aka Commandante Mando or XW2 for conspiracy to import more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana...

LAREDO, Texas - Seven people were sentenced this week for their roles in a drug conspiracy involving the shipment of cocaine and methamphetamine from Laredo to Dallas and Houston, announced Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. U.S. District Court...

KERRVILLE, Texas - Dr. Richard B. Debenedetto, of Kerville, TX, has been sentenced to six years imprisonment in a Texas State Correctional Facility for prescribing a controlled substance with no legitimate medical purpose, announced Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. (Houston Division), Kerr County District Attorney E...